Users of Internet-enabled electronic devices, such as computers, tablets and smartphones are increasingly interested in sharing media viewing and listening experiences with others. Sharing media content is relatively straightforward when the media content is available online (e.g. streaming video, web pages, quotes from scripts, downloadable music or videos) in which case the user can simply send electronic messages with links to the media content of interest. However, it is more difficult for a user to share information about broadcast media content because such content is typically not yet available online. For example, if a viewer wants to share a quote from a TV sitcom or movie, that viewer would need to send an email, text, tweet or a social network update, or make one or many phone-calls and/or instant messages to his or her friends with the pertinent quote. It is even harder, if at all possible, for a user to send a friend a link to, or a snippet of, or a quote from broadcast media content when the content is airing due to the lack of integration between the broadcast media content (e.g. television) and whatever communication device is employed by the user to share information about the media content.
In other words, it is inefficient for users to share information related to media content they are viewing on TV (or listening to on the radio, or the like) because sharing such information currently requires users to take some action beyond the viewing experience to link the media content from one medium to another. Returning to the example above, a user attempting to share a quote from a TV sitcom on a social networking website would either have to type the quote or search for the text of the script online in order to locate the quote. Even if the text of the script is available online, cutting and pasting the online text can be cumbersome.
Reciprocally, it is difficult for a casual follower to determine the public or community opinion about a particular subject that is occurring in real-time or even after the original airing of a TV program or the like. Typically, users have to seek out various content publishers that post content about the subject, including source-synchronous and quasi-officially approved posts from producers and/or cast members. But it can be time consuming to decipher public or community opinion about the subject from ratings, articles and/or comments posted on websites or micro-blogging applications. For example, in the case of a TV program, the research involved may take longer than the duration of the TV program, which makes trying to determine public or community opinion about the TV program as it is happening a futile endeavor.